The impact of onshore wind power projects on ecological corridors and landscape connectivity in Shanxi, China

JOURNAL OF CLEANER PRODUCTION

卷:254

Article

Guo, Xinya¹  Zhang, Xingqi²  Du, Shixun¹  Li, Chao¹  Siu, Yim Ling³  Rong, Yuejing⁴  Yang, Hong^5,6 

[1] Res Ctr Ecoenvironm Sci Shanxi, Taiyuan 030000, Peoples R China

[2] Nanjing Univ, Sch Geog & Ocean Sci, Nanjing 210023, Peoples R China

[3] Univ Leeds, Sch Earth & Environm, Leeds LS2 9JT, W Yorkshire, England

[4] Chinese Acad Sci, Res Ctr Ecoenvironm Sci, Beijing 100085, Peoples R China

[5] Nanjing Univ Informat Sci & Technol, Collaborat Innovat Ctr Atmospher Environm & Equip, Sch Environm Sci & Engn, Jiangsu Key Lab Atmospher Environm Monitoring & P, 219 Ningliu Rd, Nanjing 210044, Peoples R China

[6] Univ Reading, Dept Geog & Environm Sci, Reading RG6 6AB, Berks, England

关键词: Wind power project;    Ecological corridor;    Landscape connectivity;    Migration resistance;   

DOI  :  10.1016/j.jclepro.2020.120075

来源: Elsevier

【 摘 要 】

The wind power industry has developed rapidly in China, but the effect of wind power projects on the ecosystem is far from being clearly understood. The objective of this study is to evaluate the negative impact of wind power plants on the ecosystem. In this research, least-cost distance and least-cost path models were employed to establish potential ecological corridors based on the resistance at the site of the wind power projectseewhich is located in the ecological function area in Qinyuan, South Shanxi Province, China. The landscape connectivity was evaluated using a set of connectivity indices. In addition, the impact on the corridor patency, length, and the connectivity between ecological corridors were analyzed. The results showed that the wind power projects could not only significantly increase the migration resistance that hampers the formation of ecological corridors of the species at the landscape scale, but also had an obvious cutting effect on the landscapeeeresulting in an increase in the length of the ecological corridors and a decrease in corridor patency and landscape connectivity. There was also a positive relationship between the increase in length and the distance between the source patches. In addition, the connectivity was enhanced with the increase in distance threshold. This study evaluated the ecological impact of onshore wind power projects at the landscape level, filling the gap in research on landscape ecology, especially in the protected area with key ecological function. Meanwhile, the results are beneficial to guide the location selection for wind power projects and minimize their negative impact on the key ecological corridors. Crown Copyright (C) 2020 Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

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